Freddie Snakeskin – KROQ – July 2, 1981 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
The endless quest for Saturday night – the night above all nights, when all the planets align and everything is possible. You’re in your last semester of High School – it’s your town. You have fake i.d. – you get into clubs – you suck on a few too many Colt 45’s and the dance floor erupts into one big mosh-pit. A Free-for-all with feet and arms flying and bodies bouncing up, down and sideways, slamming into people you don’t know, who don’t care – they slam back. The guy in front of you jumps up on stage, turns around and dives into the crowd. Unfortunately, his head connects with your nose and you both fall over like bricks. You and the guy are laughing your asses off. The girl next to you looks at you and yells “You better get that looked at!!” You don’t know what she’s talking about. You run up to the stage and start to climb over the monitor. The bass player yells; “hey man, you’re fucked up”. Next thing you remember, you’re being carried across the room. The girl who was standing next to you is putting paper towels on your face and the waitress is throwing ice water on you. You haven’t a clue what’s going on – but you’re having a great time. You hope Saturday night never ends.
And then there’s Sunday – Can’t breathe out of your nose – can’t see out of your eyes. There’s dried blood in your hair and your mother screams at you about being grounded until you’re 18 and how you’ll wind up in prison some day just like your cousin. You reek of Bactine, which is a whole lot better than the beer-soaked vomit on your shirt.
And you can’t wait for next Saturday night.
The 80s – when all bets were off and the 70s were dress rehearsals. Radio was still your lifeline, and like a lot of people in L.A., you were addicted to KROQ. As a reminder – here is 45 minutes worth of Freddie Snakeskin from July 2, 1981.
